To date 50 families have registered for the National Family Conference. There are strong indications that many additional families from across the country will be registering soon. Sixteen product exhibitors have indicated their plans to participate as well.

PLEASE continue to:

Notify families of the conference and encourage their attendance.

Encourage exhibitors to participate so that families will know what is available for their children.

APH Adds Annual Meeting Information to Web Site
October 13-15, 2005

Want to see a photo of our 137th Annual Meeting Keynote Speaker Elton Moore? Click the following link for that as well as information on our new home for the next three years, the Louisville Downtown Marriott Hotel. The registration form and additional program information will appear there soon!

APH and COMA

APH was well-represented at the Central Orientation and Mobility Association (COMA) conference held at the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children in Pittsburgh, June 23-24. Tactile Graphics Project Leader Karen Poppe presented a session on the ‘Picture Maker: Wheatley Tactile Diagramming Kit’; Field Service Representatives Maria Delgado and Sandi Baker displayed many APH products, including the K-Sonar, at the APH booth in the vendor hall; and a presentation from Executive Advisor to the President Mary Nelle McLennan and Rick Welsh–Laughing Matters: Developing and Supporting Humor as a Skill for Learners Who Are Visually Impaired and the Professionals Who Work with Them–highlighted the event. More than 150 O&M instructors were in attendance!

Photo: Maria Delgado with Mary Nelle McLennan and Rick Welsh.

Summer Book Port Webcast Series to Begin July 12

This summer, APH Field Representative Maria Delgado wants you to become a "Book Port pro" by participating in an interactive series of webcasts from the comfort of your school, home, or office.

The Book Port series, previously scheduled to begin July 5, has been moved forward a week to accommodate those individuals attending the NFB and ACB conferences.

The webcast presentations will take place once a week during the months of July and August. Each webcast will cover a different topic, and will run from 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the number of questions each topic generates.

If you are interested in attending any of these presentations, please send an e-mail to Maria Delgado including the name of each session you plan to attend at: email hidden; JavaScript is required

WANTED:
Field Testers for APH’s Revised Patterns (Kindergarten Level)

As the new school year begins, APH offers another exciting field testing opportunity as we strive to improve the popular product, Patterns. The new curriculum prototype for Building on Patterns: The Primary Braille Literacy Program-Kindergarten Level includes many new features that make the series more user friendly, more appropriate for an integrated setting, more accurately geared toward building an appropriate vocabulary, and improve testing readiness by the conclusion of third grade. The kindergarten level introduces all letter words, all consonant sounds, all short vowel sounds, and alphabet contractions. Curriculum additions include:

Braille writing instruction from the beginning

Color word introductions with an embossed coloring book

Word banks for home practice and personalization

Sections on braille knowledge

More detailed instructions on strategies for teaching tactile skills

Practice tests serving as a checkpoints for continuing readiness

The additions and the retained concepts are showcased in a colorful, exciting text which more closely resembles the textbooks of sighted peers.

For this field test, we hope to find 50 braille-reading students with varying reading abilities from beginning kindergarten, beginning first grade, or somewhere between. Field testing will begin shortly after the new school year begins, with an evaluation due prior to winter break. We will request that participants continue using the materials throughout the year and provide further feedback at the end.

If you are interested in becoming a part of this team and helping ensure that APH truly meets the needs of students and TVIs, send your contact information, along with information about your student’s age, grade, and current reading abilities, to Rosanne Hoffmann (email hidden; JavaScript is required), or call 800/223-1839, ext. 292.

University of Louisville Students Visit APH

APH recently hosted the University of Louisville Teacher Preparation Program for Students who are Blind/VI. The Distance Education Program requires students to participate in certain activities in Louisville in cooperation with local service providers, including the Kentucky School for the Blind. This summer, the U of L students are from Kentucky, Maryland, Wisconsin, Indiana, and New York. The class of 20 students is participating in "O&M and Daily Living Skills for Teachers". Interns from the U of L Orientation and Mobility program are assisting the faculty with this beginning class for future teachers. Full-time faculty includes Mary Ann McConnell and Dr. William Penrod.

"Making It Count: Math Skills for Students who are Blind and Visually Impaired"

Math teacher extraordinare, Susan Osterhaus, from the Texas School for the Blind, made it count in Hartford, Connecticut on June 14 and 15 when she partnered with APH to present the National Instructional Partnership (NIP) event ‘Making It Count: Math Skills for Students who are Blind and Visually Impaired’.

Susan featured APH products such as the Geometry Tactile Graphics Kit; Braille Transcribers’ Kit: Math; Graphic Aid for Mathematics; Abacus; Braille/Print Protractor, and many others as she discussed Math instruction with more than 40 teachers of the visually impaired at this ‘sold-out’ training event.

EOT Jeanette Haines at the Connecticut Board of Education and Services for the Blind organized this NIP event and is to be congratulated for planning such a successful training.

Are you scrunched on space to store all 100 VELCRO® brand pieces included with your Picture Maker (as well as your own handmade pieces) on the board itself? Inexpensively add some more storage area by attaching a narrow strip of hook/loop material (included with the kit) to a re-sealable plastic bag (also included with the kit). Place the strip directly above the "zipper" portion of the bag. Fasten the hook/loop material-ed bag to either side of the board where you usually store your pieces, leaving the other side of the board available as the "drawing area." Fill the re-sealable bag with pieces you may not use often or pieces you just want to keep on hand as you work with a student or adult. Merely flip the bag over the top of the panel, out of the way, as you are working with pre-selected pieces. Remember that the variety of textures and shapes is always more important than the number of pieces available, therefore don’t clutter your working area with too many items.

From Product to Child, the Michigan Way

More than 160 VI professionals shared their enthusiasm about their work and excitement about the high-quality programming at Michigan’s annual AER conference held at the Marriott Hotel in Lavonia on April 21 and 22. APH’s conference presentation and hands-on test-drives of the ‘K’ Sonar, conducted by Adult Life Project Leader Terrie Terlau, were well received. Susan Langendonk, state chapter president, and other MAER members went the extra mile to make sure that presentation and one-on-one demonstration facilities for the ‘K’ Sonar were excellent.

There is not enough space to say all the good things about this conference, however, one unanticipated highlight cannot be overlooked. When Terrie Terlau arrived at the exhibit booth of the Michigan School for the Deaf and Blind’s Outreach Center to do ‘K’ Sonar demonstrations, she was pleasantly surprised to find herself in the midst of an APH product display. The skirted exhibit table held APH products released during the past six months with boxes of extra products peaking out from beneath the tables. Throughout the conference, teachers browsed, took APH catalogs, and ordered and received products to take back with them to their students.

"Wow," said one teacher as she carefully examined an insect tactile graphic from the newly released Sense of Science, Animals, "I have a student in fifth grade who could really use this."

"Just complete the order form and give it to me," answered Virginia Sutherland, APH Federal Quota Coordinator at the Materials’ Center.

"This is like Christmas," another teacher laughed as she maneuvered her bulging bag of APH products away from the display table. "I can’t wait to get these home to my students."

The display table of APH products, with order and delivery service, is the brain child of APH Ex Officio Trustee Kathleen Brown, who is responsible for providing Federal Quota materials to teachers for all K-12 visually impaired students in the far flung regions of Michigan. The display shows teachers what is new and the extra product supplies let teachers take home what they need, eliminating the one to two week lag-time needed for teachers to mail in an order form and receive their product shipment. Moreover, with this system, Kathy and Virginia can field questions and provide information about new APH products to teachers face-to-face. The connections fostered at this exhibit help the Materials Center operate more effectively throughout the year. We salute Kathy Brown, Virginia Southerland, and all the staff at the Materials’ Center for their work in getting APH products in to the hands of the children who need them.

Welcome to New Resource Services Staff Member

Linda Turner joined APH on June 20 in the Resource Services Department as the Technical Services Manager. Linda brings more than 10 years of professional experience to her position here, having worked as a librarian at both university libraries and health science libraries in North Carolina and in Kentucky. Linda earned her MSLS from the University of Kentucky. Welcome Linda!

Just Search Louis!

No need to log in first to search Louis! Before the new Louis interface was introduced in 2003, the only way users could download files was to log in before searching. This is no longer necessary. Simply choose the first ‘search Louis’ option from the ‘Welcome to Louis!‘ page: "Search Louis & the APH File Repository" (www.aph.org/louis.htm)

You are prompted to log in at the appropriate time if shopping on Louis or downloading files from the APH File Repository, so you do not need to log in until you have made a decision to buy. Therefore, we are removing this option from the Welcome to Louis page. This is a first step to simplify the Welcome page and make it easier to use.

Remember: you are always welcome to search Louis free of charge; you do not need a password to search Louis. You only need an account to make purchases from APH.

Four Giants to Enter the Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field

The Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field, founded in 2001 is dedicated to preserving the tradition of excellence manifested by specific individuals through the history of outstanding services provided to people who are blind or visually impaired in North America. New inductees are selected through a nationwide nomination process.

In 2002, thirty-two outstanding professionals, who made significant contributions to the field of blindness in the recent and distant past, became the first group to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Now joining those legends is the class of 2005; four remarkable individuals who will be inducted in October at a ceremony that will be held in conjunction with APH’s 137th Annual Meeting.

The Class of 2005:

William H. English (1929 – ) served as Superintendent of the Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped from 1970 – 1994, culminating a career as a teacher, coach, and administrator that included stints at the Kentucky, Ohio, and Virginia Schools for the Blind.

William A. Hadley (1860 – 1941), after losing his sight at age 55, founded the Hadley School for the Blind to provide the opportunity for others who are blind to learn braille and other subjects through correspondence.

Abraham Nemeth (1918 – ) is a life-long professor of mathematics who created a unique and revolutionary braille code that is used world-wide for mathematical and scientific notation.

J. Max Woolly (1914 – 1997) served as teacher, principal, and Superintendent of the Arkansas School for the Blind. Joining the school in 1939 as a math teacher, he served as superintendent from 1947 – 1982.

Celebrating the Life of Woodrow "Buck" L. Schrotberger

Former Ex Officio Trustee Representing the Colorado Department of Education and Chair of the Publications Committee (1993), Buck Schrotberger, 62, passed away June 8, 2005. He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Theresa.

Buck was a fine and generous fellow, IRC innovator, and founding member of the Rooster Chowder Marching Band Society. A celebration of his life was held Monday, June 13 at the East Middle School auditorium in Aurora, CO. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Special Olympics Colorado, 410 17th St., Ste. 200, Denver, CO 80202.

To order your free copy of the demo disc, email email hidden; JavaScript is required or call 1-800-223-1839 and select the "catalogs" item from the voice menu.

APH Flea Market Updated

A new listing of overstocked and discontinued APH products is now available at the APH Flea Market. All reduced pricing runs from July 1 through September 30, 2005. These inventories are available while supplies last. Take advantage of these savings today!

IMPORTANT NOTE!
A Set of Labels and Tags Is Included with Sherlock

Last month we introduced the Sherlock Talking Label Identifier kit, a digital voice recorder with each recorded message keyed to an adhesive label or plastic disk tag. Labels or tags can be attached to clothing, medications, packaged products, frozen foods, documents, books, CDs, anything you wish to identify.

The Sherlock unit, does not come alone! It includes 25 adhesive labels and 10 disk tags. We’ve noticed that some customers who buy the Sherlock kits in quantity buy as many sets of labels and tags as are already included in the kit. While we don’t want to discourage sales, we certainly don’t want to sell something that customers really do not need. If you do need additional labels and tags, we offer an extra set of 25 adhesive labels or you can purchase a set of 10 disk tags.

We are continuing to upgrade our Activity Guides and have now added Light Box Materials Level III Activity Guide, with a section on Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI). As you have found in Levels I and II, references to the old APH Bright Sights training materials have been replaced with newer materials from APH’s Let’s See kit. Additionally, this version is now produced in large print and includes a CD version for speech access to the guide.

Both Levels II and III of the Light Box Materials Activity Guide include a number of activity sheets. These are no longer provided as printed pages, but are incorporated into one CD in PDF format (Go to www.adobe.com for a free download copy of Acrobat® Reader to open PDF files and print them from any printer). You may select the activity sheets you require and produce excellent quality print pages each time.

Light Box Materials, Level III Kit: 1-08690-00 — $750.00
Note: Light Box Level III is now shipping with the revised English Activity Guide. The Light Box Level III Kit materials have not changed, only the guide. The kit price remains the same as before.

This talking calculator provides audio feedback to the user, and also has an oversized LCD display. This desktop model has the standard operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In addition, it has a memory function. A "repeat" key will speak the last result.

EZ Fill is a device that aids in filling containers, such as a glass or cup. The aid hangs on the edge of the container, and when liquid fills to about one inch from the top, the device produces a signal, alerting the user.

Uses three included LR44 button-type batteries, with an expected life span of about one year. The sliding front cover facilitates easy battery replacement.

‘K’ Sonar Headphones Are Now Also Available Separately

The ‘K’ Sonar is a small, affordable, electronic travel device that can be used independently or attached to a standard long cane. By listening to the sounds produced by the unit, the user can determine the distance, location, and features of an object.

The included headphones provide audio feedback, as the pitch from the ‘K’ Sonar changes to indicate distance to the object being scanned. Different objects create different sounds, which in many cases can be identified as a specific item.

These headphones can also be purchased separately as a replacement item or for use in a classroom or agency setting with one ‘K’ Sonar unit for multiple students.

New! Money TalksTM Bank Account Management Software

Money Talks is a completely accessible bank account management software package offering the user a simple and effective means of recording and maintaining accurate information for a variety of accounts.

Money Talks can import and use electronic banking information to reconcile accounts, remember and repeat categories and recurring transactions, remember the last workspace used in the program, emboss or print the check register in a variety of formats, and print many types of bank checks. Money Talks can be used with a screen reader or with its own self-voicing feature.

Two Ways to Order APH Software Products

APH offers two convenient ways to order our software products.

Order the CD-ROM via mail, toll-free phone, or web site.

Purchase the program through Electronic Distribution. Download the demonstration version of the program from our Web site (www.aph.org/tech). Then phone our toll free number (1-800-223-1839) and give us your credit card number. Within 24 hours, we will give you a code key that transforms your demo copy of the program into a full copy.